The World Reborn
by IntolerableWords
Summary: Bakura has always sought revenge from the Pharaoh. Years later, he finally solves a mystery he thinks will help him achieve his goal. But what he doesn't expect is the toll this power will have on his plans, and the world around him. Bakura/Marik/AtemXOC
1. Puzzle

_Hello everyone! If you're reading this, then thank you so much for choosing to read my story. I know it seems more like a mystery from the summary, but that all goes out the window pretty fast. Anyway, please stick around and review if you like it! xo_

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><p><strong>One: Puzzle<strong>

The wind in the valley was blowing hard against Bakura's chest.

_Almost like a warning._ He thought to himself and grimaced as a rock that was picked up in the wind hit his face. It sliced him cleanly right below his eye, for which he was thankful. A one eyed thief is not the most useful in that line of work.

In front of him was a large dust storm.

He told him men to stay back, that he needed space to do what he was preparing to do. Truthfully, he didn't care if they got caught in whatever magical force he was about the conduct, but he wanted to make sure that he was the one to control it.

_I would dismember anyone who tried to take this away from me._ He grit his teeth. What he was planning to do took him 15 years time to plan. 15 years of dodging the lowly, insect like Pharaoh and his ignorant Priests. 15 years of forcing himself to ignore the pain and suffering playing and replaying in his mind of his family and his entire village being massacred. 15 years of letting the Pharaoh get away with brutal murder while presenting himself as a pure, just ruler.

But soon that rein of his would be over. Bakura smiled evilly. First he would harness the power he was about to activate. Then, he would steal back the Millennium items that represented the souls of those who lived happily in his village. And finally, he would use all of his power to crush the Pharaoh and send him eternally to the Shadow Realm.

Nothing could stop him now.

He stepped further towards the dust storm, knowing this was the sign of the last piece of the puzzle he was missing. He looked down at the small pieces of stone in his hands. Each one was tiny, and couldn't be more than 2 inches in diameter. They were all jagged and broken, but when assembled right, looked strikingly similar to a three-dimensional puzzle. The most intriguing detail about them, though, wasn't that they fit together. It was their color.

When Bakura found the first piece 15 years ago while looking over the ruins of his slaughtered village, he had picked up the small rock due to the fact that in the middle of the night it managed to capture light and glimmer. He had carried the beautiful little rock with him ever since, not thinking much of it.

But 8 years later, he had encountered a scroll buried with an ancient Pharaoh, which described the very rock he had held with him for so many years. What it read was vague, but it gave the hope Bakura needed to keep going to seek his goal of revenge.

It had read something along the lines of '_collect the shattered moon rocks and once combined, watch as they destroy the world_.'

He knew the assuming his little rock was one of the 'shattered moon rocks' was a stretch, but he couldn't help but think that the rock he had held was special. And when he read the scroll, the words just seemed to perfectly fit the stone.

On the scroll, luckily, was a hand drawn, faded map. On the map were small indicators to where he assumed the rest of the rocks were scattered. Unfortunately, the map wasn't of Egypt, or the Egypt he knew, so he had spent his remaining years searching for someone who could discern the map and tell him where to search for the remaining pieces.

Finding a person in the city of Egypt to read the ancient map seemed easy enough, but it took the teenage thief another 2 years before he came upon anyone who knew what he was talking about.

The integral clue to his quest came late into the night when he had visited a small town near the coast. Bakura was 15 at the time, and had just stolen from a small tomb of a local lord who had died 100 years prior. While he was sorting through his new found treasures, a small cloaked figure entered his tent. He was immediately on defense. It was impossible for anyone to sneak up on the boy; he had always prided himself on this fact. So for this figure to walk straight into his tent without so much as a twig breaking to cue their entrance was alarming to Bakura.

He grabbed a small dagger from his side and got in a stance ready to attack.

"Who do you think are you, walking in here? Leave now, or prepare to be slaughtered." He growled.

The figure did not move, nor did they speak, they merely pointed to a small bag placed by the foot of the boy's makeshift bed. Bakura faltered slightly at this, he wasn't expecting such a reaction. He didn't turn his head back, awaiting an attack from the cloaked figure.

"What is it?" He bit. "I will not fall for such a basic trick, I am no fool." He narrowed his eyes.

"Stop playing criminal for a moment boy, and grab that tattered map in your bag. I am here to aide you in your search." It was the voice of a woman.

Bakura wasn't sure what to do. He hadn't encountered many people like this intruder, mostly because he was still too young to have encountered much as a thief. He was only 15, so he had only been stealing for relatively few years in his life.

"How do I know you aren't just here to kill me to steal all my treasures?" He asked, not moving.

The figure only laughed. "You are still inexperienced. A person with as much skill as myself wouldn't bother alarming you and having you on defense before I attacked. I could have killed you hours ago, when I first caught sight of you."

_She's right about that._ He thought to himself, cursing his lack of wisdom.

He relaxed slightly and reached for his bag.

"What do you want with the map?" He mumbled. He held the map in his hands, but refused to part with it. He might have been young, but he wasn't an idiot. He wasn't going to give up his only chance of revenge.

"I'm going to help you." The figure said shortly. "I have seen the future, and without you solving this mystery, the world can never be freed." Her voice was soft but stern. She was genuine, Bakura could tell.

"Freed?" He asked, guarded. "What do you mean by that, shrew?" His grip tightened on the map.

"Freed." Was all she replied. "Make your choice, thief. I can aid you with your journey, or leave you to forever wonder what would have become with your meaningless life without taking this chance."

Bakura clenched his jaw. He didn't like being talked down to, he didn't care who it was. Still, she had a point. He handed her the map, and stepped closer to the cloaked woman, blocking her exit.

"Don't even think about leaving." He growled. She only laughed in response.

"Watch closely, boy, as this map will now show you the way towards your destiny." She muttered some words that sounded similar to a pray and watched in shock as the old map glowed. He stepped back.

But the woman didn't let him go far. She pushed the map against his chest and before Bakura could react, it began shifting into what looked like white ooze. The ooze stuck to him and crawled up his skin, leaving a trail of burning flesh behind it.

Bakura began screaming in pain. It felt as if someone had dumped acid onto his skin. But the woman did not react, she only watched patiently.

"Let it do what needs to be done, thief, or you will never find your answers."

Bakura ignored the wretch and tried pulling the ooze off of his skin. But it did nothing but burn his fingers, melting the tips of his nails into his skin.

"What have you done, you bitch?" He roared.

The woman didn't respond for a moment. She observed as Bakura fell to the floor in agony, and as the ooze traveled up his throat and into his mouth. He resisted at first, but as it seeped through his lips he finally opened his mouth, allowing it to travel down his throat and into his body.

"You have been bonded with this quest." She said. "Now, until the day you complete this journey, you cannot stray from searching for the pieces which you are lacking. Whether you are sleeping or awake, your thoughts will be filled with the location of each piece until you have finished and solved this puzzle."

She turned to leave. Bakura reached and pulled at her cloak. "What have you done?" He coughed out. The woman paused, and then turned to look at him. Her eyes gleamed through the darkness of her cloak. They were a deep purple.

"I have given you the power to understand the puzzle you so desperately wanted to solve. You should be thanking me." She pulled her cloak away from his hands. "Go now boy, before you are driven mad with obsession. It will take you over if you don't start soon."

She left the small tent and walked a ways before meeting with a small caravan that was waiting for her. She stepped into a covered carriage and smiled. "I've put everything into motion, Pharaoh."

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><p>Bakura could feel his heart pounding. Little could cause a reaction like this from him nowadays. He had grown much older and harder since that day with the cloaked witch. But he couldn't help but allow himself to feel slight excitement at the prospect of finally finishing the quest he set out on so many years ago.<p>

He stepped into the eye of the storm, knowing without a doubt that was where the last piece lay. It was etched into his heart and his mind. It was all he could see, feel, taste.

Amidst the sand and stone he caught sight of a tiny jagged rock, no larger than his fingernail, twinkling in the sand. Bakura looked around for a moment before reaching for it; It was so calm in the middle of the storm. It was strange that anywhere outside this tranquil zone was so chaotic.

Bakura knew that chaos well though, after all, he was the one who caused it. He grinned and grabbed the tiny rock. He took a small bag out of his trousers and dumped all the other stones he had collected in the sand with the final piece. He sat down and began arranging them together.

They fit together so easily, but this came as no surprise to the Thief King. He had seen so much in his life, not much _did_ surprise him anymore. As he placed each small, jagged piece together, they mended in to the others, forming what looked more and more like a ball.

Finally, the final piece. He placed it carefully into the small niche where it fit snugly.

Nothing happened for a long moment, but then a deep terror clenched the thief's heart, the pain making Bakura groan in anguish. He didn't understand what was happening, there was no reason for him to be scared. And yet, this terror would not leave his heart. It only tightened and grew stronger. Bakura gasped for air.

He felt something crawl up his throat. He started reflexively coughing as the white ooze he had seen so long ago crawled out of his throat and towards the glimmering rock in the sand. It melted off of Bakura with ease and consumed the ball in seconds.

Bakura fell back into the sand and watched as the rock began to rise from the sand and into the air. It rose far above his head, to the top of the sandstorm, where it began to glow a bright white.

Before he could react, the ball burst open. He shielded his eyes from the light, it was too blinding.

When the light finally faded, he looked beyond his feet, hearing a sound.

It was the sound of a woman, coughing up sand and rock.

The Thief King was momentarily stunned. The woman who appeared from what seemed like nothing was blindingly beautiful. Her hair was as golden as the sun's rays, flowing down her back and covering her nude body. Her skin was pale white, like a newborn baby. And her eyes were the same colors as Bakura's – a light lavender with specks of gold.

She spoke, pulling Bakura out of his trance. "Thank you." She said softly.

He just looked at her, confused.

"Thank you for setting me free." She said, and crawled over to him. He watched as she pulled her body through the sand and approached him.

She drew herself as close to him as she could and smiled. And then she wrapped her delicate hands around his neck and pulled her soft lips into his own rough ones.

"You are the bearer of life." She softly as she pulled away from his lips for just a moment. "And for that, I am eternally grateful."

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><p><em>Hey again guys! Thanks for reading. And just a quick note: I apologzie in advance for how close this story may initially seem (in concept) to my other one, <em>My Dear Egyptian Princess_, but I assure you they are completely different. Well...except for the pairings, sorta. Haha. Anyway, I haven't written a new story for in years, so please **review** if you like it! And I hope to be cranking more out these out soon! xo_


	2. Names

**Two: Names**

Bakura pushed the girl to the ground, incredulous. "What do you think you're doing, whore?" He sneered. "Don't think you can touch me so easily."

The girl only smiled softly and rose the top part of her body from the sand, holding the small grains of earth as she studied the guarded man before her. He had a freshly bleeding cut on his cheek, as well as a scar from a burn leading from his chest up to his mouth.

"I am sorry to have caused you so much pain." She whispered, ignoring his biting words. She stared deeply into his eyes and raised her hand, holding the sand, to his cheek. She brushed the sand against his skin and watched as the cut disappeared from his face. She went to do the same on his chest, but Bakura pushed her away again, growing angry.

_Where is my ultimate power? How will I defeat the Pharaoh now?_ His thoughts raced through his mind. He was enraged at the idea that all his hard work only produced a small, strange woman. He didn't understand.

"What are you?" He spoke harshly, "Where is the power I have been promised?"

The blonde haired beauty only sighed. She didn't know how to respond.

"Tell me now, girl, or I will murder you for causing me so much annoyance." He meant his words.

Her eyes flicked to his, before settling to the ground. She concentrated on feeling the sand beneath her body before finally speaking.

"That is not an easy question to answer." She said softly. "I am because you are." She explained vaguely.

Bakura was growing more and more impatient. "Explain yourself, whore." He bit. He was close to ripping her apart in his rage.

"I am because you, and the world exists. You could say that I am a guardian of the past world. Some used to call me God, others called me Devil. I am neither, just a creator."

She attempted to raise herself up, but her legs would not work. She mimicked a mermaid on land, useless from the waist down.

"What do you mean? I went through so much to gain a great power to destroy the world." He yelled out in frustration, and turned to stare at her struggle. "You are telling me you are a creator of this world? This is preposterous, but even if it were the truth, you are not a power I can harness for destruction." He began to consider killing the girl.

She let a long breath out. "I am also known as the destructor. I was banished to the earth millennia ago to atone for my mistakes." She explained. Bakura perked up, suddenly interested. This was the type of power he was looking for. Not to create, but to _destroy._ That was all that was important to him.

"Destructor? Do you still posses such power?" He smiled evilly. He didn't care who or what she was, she had the power he had sought after for so many years. If she could do what Bakura imagined she could, the girl _could_ be useful after all.

"I can honestly say I have no idea as to what power I hold. I am not what I used to be; I was created from a part of you to now exist in this world. What powers I still hold are a mystery." She was suddenly overcome by intense sorrow. "But I refuse to destroy anything ever again."

Bakura ignored her words. He didn't care what she said, if she had the power he wanted, he would force her to bend to his will. Otherwise, there was no point to the strange woman, which meant he had spent the last 15 years of his life wasting his time hoping for a power that didn't exist.

"You will come with me." He growled. "And learn this quickly, girl," He began. "If you do not listen and obey what I demand of you, you will wish for death when I am done with you." He grabbed her arm roughly, expecting her to stand, but she only ended up being dragged across the sand.

"I will not be threatened." She said, trying to pull her arm away. "And I will _not_ go with you. I may have been restored because of you, but if you want to use me in such destructive ways, I refuse to help." She attempted to crawl away.

He only smirked at her pitiful attempt to leave. "Don't be fooled, wretch. I am not joking about what I said. You _will_ help me," He bit, and grabbed her legs, yanking her back towards him. "And you will not defy me. I created you, so you owe me your existence." He towed her through the sand and towards the sand storm.

The girl grabbed at a smooth rock buried in the earth as she passed, trying anything to pull away from the insane Thief King. It was the round stone Bakura had used to summon her. She held onto it firmly and shut her eyes tightly as she felt herself enter the cruel storm.

_Why is he doing this?_ She screamed in her head. _I swore that if I ever came back to this world, I would never hurt another soul. How could it have turned out this way?_ She searched for the sky in the tornado of sand, seeking an answer from anyone in the stars who was watching.

She couldn't see a thing in the storm.

Bakura struggled through the sand, shielding his face from the tiny rocks that pelted him. His hand slid slightly down his face and he felt for the cut below his eye unconsciously. It was gone. He stopped tugging at the girl for a moment, struck by confusion.

_Just what _is_ she?_ He thought to himself, in awe. _She wasn't lying about her power; she does possess something within her._

He began pulling her once again, knowing the exit to the storm was approaching.

The girl struggled and attempted to kick Bakura away. Unfortunately, her legs were still not responding. She cried out, frustrated that she could do nothing to push the white haired man away.

Suddenly, the storm cleared before her. Bakura continued to pull her towards the group of men he had traveled with, ignoring her grunts of frustration.

He dropped her legs and laughed at how fast she tried to flee. They both knew it was pointless for her to try, but she couldn't help but attempt anyway.

"Stay with me, girl." He chuckled. "Or face the lonely desert without a guide back to civilization. I doubt you could last a night alone with how you're dressed."

She glared at him in defiance but she knew he was right. She knew very little of the earth she was now bound to, but she could tell that it was hopeless to be left to the endless sandy dunes that lay in front of her.

The men Bakura traveled with all became instantly interested in the blonde, nude girl. They started to approach her, laughing at her lack of garb.

"Ey, Bakura, can we play with the little nymph a while before we set up camp?" One of the men asked. He had messy brown hair and green eyes with a glint of mischief.

Bakura frowned. He didn't much care for the nameless girl, but he couldn't help but feel that allowing the god-like girl to be violated wouldn't aid him in his quest to destroy the Pharaoh.

The goon drew closer to the girl, smiling sweetly. "Don't worry girlie, we'll keep you warm tonight." He laughed. The others followed suit, laughing as the blonde tried pathetically wiggling away.

"Who gave you permission to speak to my property?" He growled, walking over to the man and shoving him forcefully to the ground. "Don't think I can't kill you whenever I feel like it. Now set up camp and leave the girl alone, she's none of your business." He narrowed his eyes, staring the man down. The emerald-eyed man shuddered, and nodded silently. "Y-yes." He managed to say. He stood up and ushered the others to follow him away from the crazy-eyed Thief King and the nude temptress.

The girl was taken aback by the thief's behavior. She thought for sure that she would have been thrown to the wolves by him.

"Thank you." She said softly. He only grunted in return and walked towards a small tent pitched under the rising moon. "Stay outside or follow me, either way I don't care."

The girl trailed behind him, feeling similar to a pet. She pushed away that feeling, knowing at the moment the insane man was the only protection she had. She couldn't let her pride get in the way of safety and she knew it.

She crawled into the tent behind him and settled herself in a small corner of the tent, not moving or speaking. Bakura sat in the middle of the shelter and started taking off his bags and gear. The girl only watched in silence.

"Stop staring at me, wretch." He hissed, throwing a fiery glare in her direction. She looked away, annoyed.

"My name is not wretch, or girl." She shot back. "I have a name, you know."

He laid back and did not respond. "You should learn it before I start getting angry, _boy._" She was losing her temper. She couldn't help it, she had never been treated this way by any human before.

"Listen here, _girl_, I have no interest in learning your name. But you should learn mine, as I am your master now." He laughed at her angry glare. "Yes, glare all you like. We both know you are here because of me." He smirked.

"You owe your life to me." He added. "My name is Bakura, but you will call me master Bakura."

She almost rolled her eyes. No way was she calling _anyone_ master. "Sure." She responded sarcastically.

Bakura thought for a moment. "I suppose even pets need names, though."

The girl had the stop herself from crawling over and strangling the man.

"What are you called?" He asked, crossing his arms.

She went to answer, but suddenly her memory failed her. She couldn't remember her name.

"I…" She was stumped. How could she forget her own name? "I don't remember." She said.

"Just the same, I would have probably renamed you anyway. I like putting claim over what is mine." He responded.

"I am not _yours_." She bit.

His eyes flashed in anger and he reached out, pulling her into him by her long tresses. "What did I tell you about listening to me? Would you rather I throw you to those men who would gladly rape your fragile body?" He smugly smiled at her reaction. Her face went completely white. She didn't bother responding.

"Your name is now…" He raked his mind for suitable names. He wanted something simple but still degrading.

She pulled away from him and hid her face beneath her hair. _She looks so much like a lost cat when she reacts in such hasty ways._ He thought to himself.

"Ah," He laughed, slapping his knee in sadistic delight. "Your name is _Miu_." He thought it fit perfectly.

She stopped herself from groaning. Miu? What kind of name was that? It sounded like the noise a cat makes.

"Isn't there something more…suitable?"

_I used to hold more power than this boy could ever imagine. And he gives me such a simplistic name?_

"I think it fits. Like a pet cat." He grinned evilly. "Yes, it's a good name for you."

She didn't respond, she knew she would just be picking a fight with a monster.

Bakura regarded her silently, finally giving himself a chance to take her all in. Even to him, who didn't bother himself with weak, useless women, he had to admit she was beautiful. Her hair, golden and bright, caught light and glimmered slightly in the dark tent, even though there was no source of illumination. It was strikingly similar to the rocks he had sought after for so many years.

Her body was well shaped for a woman, and her frame was tiny, similar to a child. She couldn't have reached up to the top of his chest when she was standing. Her purple-gold eyes flicked over to his and they stared at each other for a long moment before Bakura turned away, slightly embarrassed. He grabbed his long burgundy robe from beside him and threw it at her roughly.

"Put this on, girl." He hissed. "Don't think of trying to seduce me with your lewd body."

She almost fell over. _Seduce him? Who does he think I am? Some meager, ready to please whore?_

She mumbled some half-hearted response and slipped the robe on as best as she could. She knotted the front of it and draped herself in the extra fabric, covering all of her skin.

_At least I'm warm now, though these clothes sure are troublesome. I would much rather stay nude, it's much easier to move._ She thought to herself.

"Don't think of trying to lie on my bed." He finally said after a long pause. "Or I will tie you to the floor until you learn your place."

She glared at him. "We wouldn't want that, would we? Ra forbid you should treat your elders with any type of respect." She immediately felt like an idiot. She knew she shouldn't talk back to him, but she shouldn't _help_ it! He just warranted back-talking behavior.

His violet eyes narrowed and he held his hand back, ready to strike her.

"Another word, and I'll make you sorry you ever came back to this world." He growled throatily.

She frowned and huddled in the corner of the tent, trying to close her eyes.

"I didn't ask to be brought here, that's your fault." She mumbled quietly. Bakura, luckily, didn't hear her, but she couldn't help but sulk over that fact.

_I never wanted to return here, and yet here I am._

She sighed, melancholy with how things had turned out for her.

_How am I supposed to survive in this unknown world with this beast as my guardian?_

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><p><em>Welcome back! Thanks for reading, and if you have a moment, don't forget to <strong>review<strong>! xo _


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